“We breed like sparrows an’ we die like sparrows. We never end. We jus’ come up out of the dark little houses to sit among the chimney pots flappin’ our wings and twitterin’ for the stars.”

Dorothy Hewett’s ‘This Old Man Comes Rolling Home’ is a haunting, poetic portrayal of working class family life in Cold War Sydney. Capturing the spirit and political character of 1950s Redfern, this tender story treats the often-miserable lives of its characters with warmth and humour.

The Dockerty family are on the verge of drowning. The matriarch of the family, Laurie, was once the most beautiful girl in Bundaberg. But after falling pregnant to the charming Tom, she was forced to marry out of necessity. Now 30 years later, their son Lan and his girlfriend Edie have made the exact same mistake – and tensions arise between the optimistic youngsters and their world-weary parents.

NUTS is thrilled to be bringing to life the first play by "one of Australia's best-loved and most respected writers" Dorothy Hewett, in a week long run at NIDA.